BMW i3 review: Electric car for all seasons

The public demands for driving may vary sometime, but an electric car is here to stay. The new entries in the market create a graph which becomes much steeped. The EPA has certified just one electric car for drive on the road. But in 2013, ten electric cars were under US flag. That number will increase for 2014.

The German class: BMW

The BMW i3 is known for its German engineering. It is fast and furious. Its sporty and uses cutting edge German technology. The BMW i3 is an addition to the BMW car showroom. It’s BMW’s first venture into the electric car industry. It is a concept model car. The features provided in this BMW i3 are amazing.

BMW i3 is the first car to be launched under i category. It’s a concept car which was unveiled in Frankfurt Motor show back in 2011.

The BMW i3 is a four seater with five doors car. It is still a stylish car. A black band runs from the roof to the bonnet till the car’s rear. It has 170 horse power engine charged by lithium ion battery. On one single charging it can go on 160 kilometers easily.

The BMW i3 can reach up to 100 kilometer per hour in 8 seconds. Its top speed is 150 kilometers. The battery can be charged from any domestic plug for 10 hours. From a public charging station, it takes 4 four hours. Another car named BMW i3 range extender. It can reach up 300 kilometers on one solo charge.

BMW i3 is slated to release its i3 later in 2014. It is different from what BMW regularly offers. BMW i3 is tall and a hatchback car. It is a three plus two door designed car which looks like the Honda Element, a discarded car from Honda.

Under the bonnet

When the front doors are open, rear doors swing out for giving easy entry into the interior. The BMW i3 is not bound to regular car architecture, it design hinge on a two component method. The driving module is made from aluminum. The drive module consists of 170 horse power electric motor present ahead of rear axle. The lithium ion battery is 450 pound in weight. Sub frames aren’t used at all. The motor is connected with the chassis. For weight reduction, its design has been rethought and optimized. It’s a skateboard chassis car. The chassis bolts are made from aluminum.

The Life module is made from carbon fiber and aluminum. In other words, the upper half of the car has been made with carbon fiber. The lower half uses aluminum. Plenty of aluminum has been used. The modules are amalgamated into each other. A stiff structure has been made. The top layer is made from injection molded thermoplastic panels. It resists dents like the Saturn models from the 1990’s.

Cozy interior of BMW i3

The interior components are lightened up. The cabin panels are made from reinforced plastic. It is enforced with exposed fibers. The weight of the panel is cut by 10 percent. Fronts seats use composite shells and neither have electric adjustments. The production process left carbon fiber trimmings to be used in rear seat’s composite pan.

The BMW is very roomy to say the least. The seat bottom is lower and forces passengers in an awkward knee angle. Headroom is spacious and shoulder space is plenty. The glass roof panels indicate a sense of coziness.

The six speed transmission of BMW i3 works on its own accord. It doesn’t step up until forced really hard. The same case was observed in sports mode. The pleasure in taking a manually executed shift is real fun. The same was achieved in Ford after much work on boost and redline. But doing this disables the Eco segment of BMW i3. Thus, 18 MPG were achieved in mixed driving. In a V6 model weighing 4,187 pounds, the mileage was over 21 MPG.